Zhang Chen sat limply on the ground, golden light flashing in his eyes as he glanced towards the next room. He sighed with relief in his heart, "Fortunately, the Fox Spirit and the poor scholar next door are not home. If the Fox Spirit saw this scene, there would probably be another trouble."
Zhang Chen looked at another surviving roe deer, which was filled with terror, frightened by Zhang Chen’s methods, constantly crashing around the yard with a look of panic in its eyes.
Zhang Chen didn’t continue to drain the blood of the other roe deer. His symptoms had eased, and he didn’t want to waste such fine food. He planned to save this roe deer for his little sister and mother, so he wished to keep it, knowing that his greatest crisis had passed. If he wanted to drain blood, he could go hunting in the mountains later on.
"It’s just that the transformation inside my body remains ongoing." Zhang Chen felt the boiling heat within his body and couldn’t help but show a trace of worry in his eyes, "What change is happening in my body? I don’t even know if it’s good or bad."
Just as Zhang Chen was worried, suddenly his heart skipped a beat, and then the rice-grain-sized Crystal Core gently trembled, flowing with blood throughout Zhang Chen’s body. At this moment, Zhang Chen’s vision suddenly blurred, and the Golden Finger Interface jumped out;
[Name: Zhang Chen]
[1 Skill (Second Tier): Light of the True God (0/5000)]
[2 Skill (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000)]
[3 Skill (Unranked): Bloodsucking (0/10000)]
[Points: 4650]
Zhang Chen was very familiar with the Golden Finger Interface before him, but the next moment he saw it twist, all the text exploded into static, and then countless snowflakes filled the screen, forming new text:
[Detected Unknown Power Interference, Skill Mutation: Bloodsucking -> Blood Control]
The next moment, Zhang Chen saw the Golden Finger Interface refresh:
[Name: Zhang Chen]
[1 Skill (Second Tier): Light of the True God (0/5000)]
[2 Skill (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000)]
[3 Skill (Unranked): Blood Control (0/100000)]
[Points: 4650]
"What the heck??? One hundred thousand points!!!" Zhang Chen exclaimed, utterly shocked by the number behind the Blood Control Skill, even forgetting to investigate the skill’s effects.
He thought maybe he was dizzy or seeing things, so he quickly rubbed his eyes, then opened them wide again, staring fixedly at the points behind the third skill, "One hundred thousand points!!! What a joke! What level must I elevate the other skills to!"
"What potential does this Blood Control Skill have, that it dares to demand one hundred thousand points to get ranked?" Zhang Chen couldn’t imagine what he was seeing.
Then Zhang Chen sensed the third skill, cursing under his breath, "I have to see what mysteries this skill holds to dare ask for one hundred thousand points to upgrade."
Zhang Chen sensed the third skill, and then countless pieces of information flooded into his mind. The next moment, Zhang Chen inhaled sharply, "Hiss~"
"It can control the blood throughout my body!" Zhang Chen looked at the third skill and, feeling the information it conveyed, instantly realized how significant its potential was. This skill was exceptional.
The next moment, Zhang Chen stretched out his hand, and countless drops of blood seeped out from between his skin, gathering at his fingertips into a ball the size of a glass marble.
Then, with a thought from Zhang Chen, the blood seeped back into his skin.
Zhang Chen took a piece of nearby wood and made a cut against his palm, seeing a wound appear but no blood flowing out.
"This skill is outstanding. In the future, I could stop my blood flow to play dead or even sustain severe injuries without bleeding out—isn’t that practically immortal?"
"Even if my heart were pierced and I combined it with the Bloodsucking Technique, as long as blood is available, I shouldn’t die, right?" Zhang Chen thought to himself, eyes filled with shock.
If it has such abilities even unranked, what wonders would it possess once ranked?
Zhang Chen could say that, despite this skill being unranked, it was more precious than ranked skills! Upgrading it with one hundred thousand points was not a loss at all!
"Unbelievable!" Zhang Chen silently marveled to himself.
With a thought, Zhang Chen viewed all of his blood vessels and the flow of blood in his mind, having complete mastery over their flow, seeing everything clearly and distinctly.
With a thought, Zhang Chen stopped the flow of blood, and his heart ceased beating, as if he were a dead man.
Another thought and some of his bodily blood stopped flowing, while another part flowed as usual.
"As long as my head isn’t chopped off or takes fatal damage, as long as I have a chance to master Divine Techniques, even if my heart is pierced, I might have a chance to survive. Certainly, if the heart is cut out, that’s another matter!" Zhang Chen muttered to himself, amazed by the skill’s heaven-defying capabilities.
"My blood levels are only one-tenth of normal, no wonder I’ve been dizzy with weak limbs." Zhang Chen sensed the flow of blood in his body, understanding his condition. But where the rest of the blood went, or why it suddenly disappeared, he had no clue.
"So hot! This transformation hasn’t ended. What I need most now is a good rest and plenty of meat to replenish the missing blood in my body." Zhang Chen stopped testing the skill, having a temporary understanding of his circumstances. At this moment, a wave of extreme drowsiness overwhelmed him, impossible to resist, much like a post-illness sleepiness, but a hundredfold stronger, making him profoundly desire to sleep.
Without bothering with the roe deer on the ground, Zhang Chen stood up, staggering into his room, weakly lying on the bed, only feeling his mind heavy and wanting to sleep immediately. As countless distracting thoughts filled Zhang Chen’s mind, Wang Wu led a slightly emaciated man in green clothes into the room.
"Physician Song, quickly come and see! This child accidentally ate some wild fruit from the mountain. Can he be saved?" Wang Wu led Physician Song into the room, his voice filled with urgency.
Entering the room, they saw Zhang Chen lying on the bed with his eyes open, still breathing, and they both secretly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he was alive.
Physician Song stepped forward upon hearing this, inspecting Zhang Chen’s eyes and listening to his heartbeat, then reaching out to take his pulse. After carefully listening for a long time, he released Zhang Chen’s wrist and took out silver needles from his pouch, pricking Zhang Chen’s ten fingers.
Zhang Chen didn’t resist, unsure of his current condition and thinking it might be beneficial for Physician Song to check on him. Wang Wu stood nearby, face tense, not daring to breathe as he watched Physician Song’s actions with worrying eyes. He thought of Zhang Chen as his own son, anxious as he watched Zhang Chen suffer from poisoning.
Physician Song inserted the silver needles into Zhang Chen’s thumb, but no blood flowed. Then he used gold needles on the other ten fingers, observing Zhang Chen’s bloodless fingers with serious eyes. He pulled open Zhang Chen’s clothes, starting from his arm to his fingertips, finally squeezing out a drop of crimson blood.
Seeing the crimson blood, Physician Song relaxed and smiled slightly, clearing his throat, "No worries! There’s no major harm, and the fruit’s toxicity has dissipated."
"That’s great!" Wang Wu exclaimed with joy, unable to help but clap his hands, eager to jump in celebration.
"However..." Physician Song’s voice suddenly paused, stretching the tone, "This child’s blood level is less than one-tenth of a normal person, seriously anemic, needing a lot of meat and tonics to replenish the blood."
With words full of amazement, Physician Song said, "Listening to this child’s pulse, due to the lack of blood, his heart’s rhythm is extremely faint. Pricking ten fingers without blood indicates utmost anemia, and ordinarily, a person who loses this much blood, even seasoned warriors licking their knife blades, should have long perished! Moreover, there are no wounds on this child to explain such blood loss."
Physician Song’s voice was filled with disbelief. Typically, losing half of one’s blood is life-threatening without immediate treatment, let alone Zhang Chen’s current state at less than one-tenth blood volume.
Lying on the bed, Zhang Chen felt surprise at Physician Song’s words, showing that he had some skill, keenly aware of Zhang Chen’s blood loss and its extent, yet puzzled at how he discerned it.